10 Cars That Depreciate Like a Stock Market Crash

When the recession first reared its ugly head, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted by 53.7 percent between October 2007 and March 2009. Fortunately, while shiny new car drops precipitously in value as soon as you drive it off the lot, new automobiles typically won't depreciate quite that dramatically. But let's face it: Just about any car you purchase new will lose money, and some will sink like a stone. We took a look at recent transactions on eBay Motors to see which cars are the biggest losers, and what we found certainly doesn't bode well for the folks who own these cars. The flip side? With values in the basement on these ritzy and powerful cruisers, we might be tempted to snag one for our own garage.

BMW 7-Series

BMW 7-Series

The 3-Series sport sedan is in many ways the heart and soul of BMW, but it is the large and luxurious 7-Series that often demonstrates BMW's technical prowess (such as the equally revolutionary and frustrating iDrive) for the entire brand. Unfortunately, the 7-Series is one of the worst vehicular investments.

The generation of 7-series that came just before the iDrive cars is perhaps one of the most gorgeous designs of any sedan–ever. Its lines are timeless. But it's not worth much. We found a 2001 740i (the final year for the model) with 160,964 miles that sold for a mere $4900. The next generation, thanks to a heavy dose of expensive-to-maintain electronics, doesn't fair much better. A 2005 745i with just 45,429 miles went for $20,000 even. Wow. So for less than you'd pay for a plain old 2011 Honda Accord, you could have a six-year-old 7-Series that cost more than $70,000 new. Of course, when one of those pricey BMW components breaks, you'll probably wish you were driving the Honda.

Bentley Arnage

Bentley Arnage

No car this side of a Maybach 57 or Rolls-Royce Phantom shows the world you're loaded like a Bentley Arnage. The Arnage was produced from 1998 to 2009 as the flagship of the Bentley lineup. Although it debuted with a BMW-sourced V8, most came with the powerful turbocharged 6.75-liter V8 that produced more than 600 lb-ft of torque, depending on the model. These cars were always priced above $200,000 when new. In fact, in its final year, the Arnage topped out at more than $260,000.

But they aren't worth that now. We found a 2000 Arnage Red Label (equipped with the 6.75-liter V8) with a paltry 28,687 miles that sold for just $40,000. So you could own a well-equipped 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee or spend that cash on an 11-year-old Bentley Arnage and look like a millionaire. Actually, we'd probably wait another five or 10 years for this car to drop below 20K. Now that would be a good deal.